Heat at Celtics
THE STORY: It’s a series again, with the Boston Celtics asserting themselves in a major way in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinal set against the Miami Heat. The return of Shaquille O’Neal to the lineup might have provided an emotional boost to the team and the home fans, but it was the vintage performances from Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce that really got the Celtics back into the series. Miami had Boston on its heels with wins in the first two games but looked very average in getting crushed in Game 3, as each of its stars suffered through lackluster performances. Boston will be looking to even the series at 2-2 when it hosts game 4 on Monday.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE CELTICS: Boston refused to show any weakness as the series went to TD Garden for Game 3, locking down on defense and holding the Heat to 35 points in the second half en route to a 97-81 triumph. Rajon Rondo exemplified that toughness when he suffered a dislocated elbow in a collision with Dwyane Wade but returned to the game in the fourth quarter and capped the decisive run with a breakaway dunk. Trailing 46-44 at the half, Garnett put the Celtics on his back in the third quarter, scoring 14 of his 28 points in the frame and converting more field goals (seven) than the entire Miami team (five). Garnett added 18 rebounds to his line and got some help from Pierce, who scored 27 points, and Ray Allen, who chipped in 15.
ABOUT THE HEAT: Something went wrong at halftime for Miami and a different team emerged from the locker room. After easily cutting through the Boston defense in the first two games of the series, the Heat could not get their stars to align on Saturday. Chris Bosh was the worst offender, held to six points on 1-of-6 shooting. LeBron James struggled to 15 points on 6-of-16 shooting and Wade scored 23 points but had only nine in the second half. Miami would have been even further back had it not been for some strong bench performances from Mario Chalmers (17 points) and Joel Anthony (12 points, 11 rebounds). Instead of getting the ball inside to Bosh or having James use his size advantage on the inside, Miami kept settling for jumpers and ended up 5-of-23 from 3-point range.
WHO’S HOT/WHO’S NOT: Glen Davis was a key scorer off the bench for the Celtics during the season but has been forgotten in this series. He is averaging 3.3 points after going scoreless in 11 minutes on Saturday. Wade has been the most consistent scorer for Miami, averaging 29.7 points in the three games.
KEY STATISTIC: 3-point shooting. While Miami was laying bricks at its 5-of-23 rate from the outside in Game 3, Boston was converting 9-of-18 attempts from beyond the arc. Pierce was the most successful, burying 5-of-7 shots.
LAST WORD: “We fully understand now how tough it is to take down a champion. ... Because you know this is a proud group, and you knew they would have a response.” - Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.